Smackdown Live 04/10/2016

Welcome back to our Smackdown Live review, this week we have the go home show before No Mercy, with many feuds coming together for their culminations. I tried to pick a few favourites as examples, but I’m invested in all of them. However I’m least interested in Corbin/Swagger and Bella/Carmella. I feel like Bella/Carmella has been going too longfor too little stakes to really seem interesting. Corbin/Swagger is too vanilla to be interesting as well.

Bray Wyatt vs Kane

We open with Bray Wyatt walking in as the crowd lights the way, we get a reminder of his feud with Orton before Kane walks into the ring. The match plays out slow and stiff, which is expected with these two. Kane bites his lip or something, bleeding out of his mouth throughout the match. Bray escapes the chokeslam to start in on a Sister Abigail before Orton appears on the Titantron upside down, he gives an interesting promo beckoning Bray to come after him. Kane waits to attack while Bray is distracted but Bray gets out of it, choosing to leave in order to pursue Randy rather than continuing the match. If this was Raw, Randy would just be commentating or supporting Kane ringside for this match. I’m thankful for the good storylines of Smackdown.

Winner by DQ, Kane

We then get Baron Corbin walking through the backstage area, he prepares for an interview before Jack Swagger approaches to continue their storyline, but Corbin doesn’t want to continue their storyline right there. He continues storylines in the ring. Swagger quickly leaves to set up a match tonight with Bryan. We then see Bray searching for Randy while the next match gears up.

Alexa Bliss and Carmella vs Nikki Bella and Becky Lynch

Bliss takes on Bella while Carmella commentates in a complete contradiction to what I said earlier. The women’s division have a great set of storylines going into No Mercy, with Carmella vs Nikki and Lynch vs Bliss, it’s a shame they don’t get more time on the shows to shine. This match ends early when Carmella interferes, Lynch runs in to even the odds. Following the break we find that Daniel Bryan made this a tag team match, blissfully extending the time dedicated to the women. The match goes back and forth until Nikki and Carmella chase eachother out of the ring, leaving Bliss to deal with the downed Lynch, taking the win for Team Heel.

Winner by Pinfall, Alexa Bliss and Carmella

We return to Bray Wyatt searching for Randy Orton, Bray falls for the bait of his rocking chair in a storage container. He leans on the chair, asking if that’s all Orton has before Orton locks him in, proclaiming the hunter to be the hunted. We’re left with security camera footage of Bray slamming on the walls to try and escape. I really like this feud. It’s like a more grounded version of when The Undertaker haunted Orton.

Daniel Bryan leads a yes chant as he is followed by Breast Cancer survivors, in the ring is a table with a pink sheet across it. The segment is similar to last nights breast cancer segment with Enzo and Cass presenting some survivors with Raw Women’s titles. After naming them and promoting the fight against breast cancer, his music plays. Bryan calls for the show runners to cut his exit music, presenting Smackdown titles to the women before leading the crowd in a yes chant.

Vaudevillains vs Hype Bros

We get a match between two criminally underrated teams next. Mojo sets the tone for the match, proclaiming that it’s ‘Hammer Time’ before dancing for a bit. The match is harried after that, going quickly as The Ascension walk onto the stage and watch the action. The fast nature doesn’t stop it from being competitive, with the action heating up before culminating in a High Ryder to finish it off. Mojo and Zack look up at The Ascension before the match ends.

Winner by Pinfall, The Hype Bros

The Miz comes out to present a special episode of Miz TV, showing a Dolphumentary for what could possibly be Ziggler’s final Smackdown appearance. The documentary obviously shows him in the worst possible light, titled ‘The Success of a Failure’. Hopefully it really is a full WWE 24 special. You really have to see it. Dolph argues that the embarrassment was worth it, talking about all the highlights of his career. He declares that he will win the title as he isn’t done yet. All The Miz has to say is ‘Yes you are.’ The Miz continues his top heel work, saying that he has just the thing to raise Dolph’s spirits. Jesus Christ he got the last of the Spirit Squad to come out. I think the cringey Dolph Ziggler chants from the squad is the most dasardly heel thing that he’s done yet. Ziggler tries to attack Miz before the Squad take out Dolph, venting their jealousy on him. The Miz definitely came out of this in the better light.

We return to Bray’s adventure in the box. He is sitting. Okay.

American Alpha vs The Usos

We return to the ongoing feud of The Usos vs AMERICA. Gable is still favouring his knee from the injury during the Tag Team Tournament. The match lasts all of 30 seconds before Jordan pins Jey. Kimmy attacks Gable on the side then Jimmy chop blocks Jordan. Before they can put Jordan out of action, beloved tag team champions Slater and Rhyno run out to stop them. The Usos are ran out of the ring.

Winner By Pinfall, American Alpha 

We’re back with Bray in the box, he’s singing. Now he’s hallucinating Sister Abigail, saying that he’s ready to go home. After the break, Orton comes to let Bray out, finding the container empty. He steps inside to throw the chair about. Bray mercifully doesn’t lock him in.

Baron Corbin vs Jack Swagger

D’you think they’ll let Swagger have new T shirts soon? I mean his ‘We the people’ shirt is fine, but it’s pretty old by now. Maybe this run will give him some new t shirt opportunities. Anyway, Smackdown in ring debut. Corbin is Corbin. The match is pretty average until a dumbass finish in which everyone argues over whether Corbin really tapped out or if he was reaching for the rope. He was reaching for the rope. The announcers blame the ref. Corbin tantrums about for a bit.

Winner by Submission, Jack Swagger

AJ Styles comes out to hype himself up. He doesn’t really need to do that anymore though does he? His Cena Armband is gone now as well. His speech is interrupted by Ambrose, who let’s off some sick rhymes. John Cena comes out and is immediately shut up by AJ before he gets a word out. AJ yells at Cena for trying to compare himself to Ric Flair, as the crowd woos. He says that Cena chases history while Styles makes it. Cena tries to say something but Dean stops him before he can. Cena’s having a rough night. Ambrose claims he’s real while Cena just plays John Cena on TV. John is allowed the words ‘Talk is cheap’ before he attacks them. He holds the title for a second before Styles beats him back down and takes it back. Probably a taste of what’ll happen when Cena ties the record, whenever he does.

This was a pretty good Smackdown, setting up all the storylines for the endings this Sunday. Although a lot of the matches were quite concise, with quick endings. I mean the main event of the PPV had barely  ten minutes before the show finished. It at least hit all the notes that a go home show should hit, and it was obviously better than the mediocre Raw from last night.

Follow me on Twitter @Oliverwoodster

TNA Impact Wrestling: Moose Prototype Or Hype?

Pro Wrestling, and football has gone hand and hand for decades. Who could forget the infamous WWE vs. NFL Battle Royal at Wrestlemania 2. Players stepped into the squared circle for many reasons; some for extra income during the off season, injuries, many wanted to stay in the lime light after life on the grid iron. For some, they just loved  wrestling.

We’ve seen many come for pay, and leave an impact. While a select few became superstars.  Ron Simmons,  “Big Cat”   Ernie   Ladd,   “Hacksaw”  Jim Duggan, and Vader paved the way for the    likes   of  Goldberg,    and     The Rock. Now theres Moose.

Quinn “Moose” Qjinnaka, 6′ 5 299 pound former offensive lineman; known for his time with the Atlanta Falcons. Moose, currently signed with TNA got his his start in 2012 after being cut by the St. Louis Rams, receiving his training by former WWE star Curtis Hughes.

After training, Qjinnaka  was  highly sawed      after      by       GFW,   TNA, Lucha  Underground,   ROH  and WWE. GFW    won    the    sweepstakes    only partially, and  for a limited time with Moose signing an exclusive deal with ROH in 2014. Tasting success for two years at ROH, Moose was once again a free agent.

Wrestling fans were close to seeing Moose in WWE, with fellow NFL alumnus Dean Muhtadi (Mojo Rawley), and Thomas Pestock (Baron Corbin).

Unfortunately this did not come into fruition, Qjinnaka was arrested back in 2009 for domestic violence after fighting his then wife. WWE figured at the time of signing Quinn would of been unwise during the ongoing Adam Rose and Jerry Lawler situation. With that Moose made his TNA debut on July 12th 2016.

Moose was thrust into major story line with    former    ROH    standout   Mike Bennett,  and  TNA  World  Champion Lashley. In his first couple of matches, Moose has shown great agility, speed, and skill. In time his “mike” presence will continue to grow, building off his NFL swagger. The question is, can Moose stay mentally focused, and discipline to survive in the square circle. If  he  does Moose  will  be  the prototype  for  the future “Big Man” in pro wrestling.

WWE BATTLEGROUND Results/Recap

Kickoff Show
Usos vs Breezango
Jimmy and Jey Uso arrive first on the kickoff entrance. I still believe they have one of the more entertaining entrances even though it has lost some steam over time. Breezango enter right after to a few spots of cheers. It feels like Breezango might win the match. Fandango starts against Jimmy, getting caught in a decent double team move followed by some chops. Tyler Breeze and Fandango show some decent teamwork with a slingshot elbow hopping over the top rope by Fandango. Frequent tags by Breezango leads to an opening by the Uso’s after they miss a window of opportunity. The Uso’s try to pump up the crowd with an US-O chant but it is followed by a sea of boos. The match is slow-paced with the crowd waiting for something to happen. Crowd cheering for Breezango after some near falls. A confusing outside spot leads to a super kick fiasco by the Usos. Jimmy sets up for a big splash, as Jey spears through the ropes with a suicide dive taking out Fandango on the outside. Jimmy jumps and hits the splash on Tyler Breeze but being the legal man, he wisely rolls Jimmy into a small package ending in a 1,2,3 count victory! Received well by the crowd to a moderate cheer!
Winners-Tyler Breeze and Fandango (Breezango)

Main Match Card
Charlotte and Dana Brooke vs Sasha Banks and ????
Sasha Banks enters to an eruption of cheers after Charlotte and Dana are already in the ring. Sasha’s mystery partner is……BAYLEY!!! Thank You GOD!!! WWE finally did something for the fans!! My heart is racing from the enormous reception she received. I have donned Bayley the female Daniel Bryan. Charlotte and Dana cutoff their celebration attacking both Sasha and Bayley knocking them outside the ring. Referee Mike Chioda settles things down and they ring the bell! Charlotte and Bayley begin the match with the crowd cheering for every move done by Sasha and Bayley. Sasha botches a hurricanrana off the top rope but still manages some effectiveness. Dana Brooke and Charlotte control the majority of the match for a good five minutes. A vicious double clothesline by Bayley and Dana allows the hot tag to Sasha who cleans house against Charlotte. Sasha hits double knees on Charlotte but again botches a cross body off the top rope barely connecting. Charlotte hits natural selection but Bayley makes the save! Sasha hits a bank statement but Dana makes the save. A squirm ends, with Sasha hitting another bank statement, Charlotte tapping fairly quickly! Sasha and Bayley have a moment with a hug after to a huge reaction! I was happy for Bayley, especially starting out the night on a great note and a gift from WWE. An ok match in which you kind of wanted more from Bayley but WWE did not allow it.
Winners – Sasha Banks and Bayley

Second Match
A New Day vs The Wyatt Family
New Day come out to a big crowd reaction as they immediately make a Taylor Swift joke while referencing Bone Crusher’s “Never Scared” hit song entering the ring. As they spew out the giddiness of being drafted together to RAW. The Wyatt Family disrupts them as the crowd turns into a sea of fireflies. New Day tags each member in before the match starts, while Xavier Woods is still hypnotized by Bray Wyatt. Frequent tags by both teams as every member appeared in the ring, in the first 30 seconds. Erick Rowan and Kofi Kingston end up as the beginners of the match. There has been 2 headlocks with no real action to begin with, other than a mean clothesline by Bray Wyatt on Kofi. Wyatt family clearly in control for the first part of this match. Big E gets the crowd back into it with his Big Splash chanting “New Day Rocks.” Kofi moments later hits a flip over the top rope on Strowman on the outside. Bray goes to hit Sister Abigail and Xavier Woods interrupts, to a standoff with Bray again hypnotizing Xavier. Eventually he breaks out of it and attacks Bray to a crowd cheer. Strowman grabs a hold of Xavier choking him and Big E hits his suicide spear on Strowman landing really awkwardly. Hopefully he is alright. In the blink of an eye you see Bray Wyatt in his spider walk, freezing Xavier in time which allows him to hit sister abigail for the 1,2,3 count! I am a fan of the Wyatts but it doesn’t matter as the winner of this match means nothing. Only time will tell where all these Wyatt Family superstars wil go. Bray Wyatt got the pin so I am satisfied with it.
Winners – The Wyatt Family

Third Match
United States Championship
Rusev vs Zack Ryder
Lana is in the ring pretty much wearing a wedding dress outfit and tiara. I am already falling asleep. Zack Ryder comes out in an american flag Randy Savage looking outfit. Rusev is dominating with a series of wrestling moves and headlocks. Zack Ryder fights back to a desperate crowd cheering USA! trying to will some energy into this match. Rusev has done nothing but hug Zack up until this point. Ryder again trying to fight back with some forearms. Crowd chanting Woo! With every connection. The first attempt for a Broski Kick is stopped short by Rusev. Zach reverses a suplex into a neck breaker which is quite a good move on the eye. They tangle outside for a minute ending with Zack Ryder hitting a dropkick off the barricade. They enter the ring with Zack Ryder hitting a Rough Ryder and missing a Macho Man-esq elbow off the top rope. Rusev then locks in the “Rusev Crush'” applying major pressure, ending in a Zack Ryder tap out. Snooze Button Please….Rusev attacks Zack after the match with Mojo Rawley coming out for the save! I don’t know what this does for WWE but maybe just a segment that the writers did not want to work too hard on.
Winner – Rusev

Fourth Match
Sami Zayn vs Kevin Owens
Let’s Go! Sami Zayn receives a great reaction as the vignette done by WWE was actually pretty good in-between matches. Kevin Owens musics hits to an equally big pop from the Verizon Center dawning a clean look. Sami immediately goes for a helluva kick, but misses as they spill to the outside exchanging aggressive moves, with Sami having the upper hand. The crowd going back and forth cheering both amazing wrestlers. Owens hits his cannonball to a near fall. You can feel the energy with crowd again starting an Ole’ chant, to Kevin Owens mocking them. Owens has had the advantage for most of the match so far. A 2 minute headlock by Owens allows the crowd to build behind Sami as he fights back with a big clothesline. A Michinoku driver out of nowhere to a near fall. Sami botches a flip off the rope, which looked like a botch on purpose so Owens can work on that limb. A blue thunder bomb, again out of nowhere to a near fall. Sami clutching that arm, again looks like a work on the botched move. Each wrestler struggles on the top rope teasing a superplex. Sami fights off Owens ending with a super kick into a crossface. Pretty good match so far I must say. Sami moments later hits a exploder suplex missing a helluva kick again. Both men fight on the apron with Sami hitting an amazing Suplex on the side of the apron to a “This Is Awesome” chant. Exchanging right hands to the crowd, being again half and half on the cheering meter.  Violently trading right hands. Later, Sami goes for the tornado ddt through the ring post and is met by a super kick followed by a cannonball, followed by a frog splash! What A Sequence! Only a 2 count as Sami Keeps fighting! Sami hits a tornado ddt, walking on the ropes Undertaker style. Walking into a super kick by Owens followed by dragon suplex and then another, for a 2 count! The Crowd Is Standing Up Chanting YES!! Sami goes for a helluva kick running into a pop-up power bomb to a really close 2 count with Sami’s foot on the rope. Again “This Is Awesome” chant! Kevin Owens slaps the s**t out of Sami, with him begging for another. Sami stands up and hits Kevin with an exploder suplex, followed by 2 vicious helluva kicks for the 1…2…3!!! An amazing match!! By far the best match in a while put on by WWE, finally giving the crowd a great match stealing the show! A match for the ages, story telling, good wrestling and a finish sequence that had the crowd cheering the whole time. I really wish they would fight forever every week for the rest of my life!
Winner- Sami Zayn

Fifth Match
Natalya vs Becky Lynch
Every time Natalya’s music hits I get a nostalgia moment for my favorite wrestler Bret Hart. They grapple for the advantage with Natalya leaving the ring in a heel move. Becky is the crowd favorite, as Natalya methodically stays outside the ring every chance she gets. Whipping Becky into the steel steps hurting her leg. Natalya works on that leg Bret Hart style setting her up for the infamous sharpshooter hopefully. Becky is doing a fantastic job of selling her leg injury as Nattie continues to attack it. Natalya does a very acrobatic flip showboating, which is quite impressive. Becky comes back with an enziguiri, followed by some clotheslines. They trade submission attempts but Natalya locks the sharpshooter in with Becky crawling to a rope break. Moments later another sharpshooter hold is applied in the center of the ring. Strategically dragging her back into the center everytime Becky crawls to the ropes. Becky taps painfully with the winner Natalya! This match will go unnoticed because of the short segment they had. I like both female wrestlers and believe they are both at the top in terms of talent. Obviously Natalya is the best given her experience and background. Once again they deserved a better rivalry and more time to expand this feud!
Winner- Natalya

Sixth Match
Darren Young vs The Miz
What the hell is Miz and Maryse wearing?!?!? All I can say is google it. Darren Young looks good to start the match executing his holds well. Backlund shouts some words of encouragement as again he performs his maneuvers very technically. Maryse with a distraction, allowing Miz to push Young off the top rope. Headlock by Miz allowing the crowd to pick sides, they clap for Darren to come back. Miz talks trash to Backlund, which I think is a dumb move, if you know who Bob Backlund is. Both guys try a backslide and fail for about 10 seconds. Miz hits the boots in the corner stomping out Darren Young showboating. Young explodes with a suplex. Pumping up the crowd Young drops Miz on the apron. Miz tries to leave the arena as Backlund cuts him off. Maryse comes over and slaps Backlund pretending that Bob hit her. Miz comes outside the ring to confront Bob as Darren Young hops down and applies the crossfire chicken wing! The ref rings the bell in a disqualification because of a 10 count! Darren holds the submission attempt while referees try to break it up. Darren Young pushes a referee, which the commentators say will lead to a fine. I thought Darren Young looked good but we didn’t get a good enough sample size for these wrestlers which stinks! Darren Young does have potential with Bob Backlund but again a segment which felt rushed, and a terrible ending on a PPV!
Winner- The Miz

Seventh Match
John Cena, Enzo Amore and Big Cass vs The Club
Cena, Enzo and Big Cass gets a big crowd reaction! Enzo and Cass do their thing with the crowd behind them echoing every word. Enzo actually tells a few good jokes which are pretty funny. The crowd is 100% behind them. Well, all I can say is if there was a mic war, this match is already over. S-A-W-F-T SAWWWFFTTT! Great mic work by both men. Enzo Amore starts against Karl Anderson. Karl immediately tags AJ Styles to the crowd’s favored chant. Cass and Anderson enter, off both teams tagging. A minute later Cass sends Enzo outside into The Club minus AJ. Right after Cass sends AJ into The Club as well knocking everyone down. Cena chants, back and forth as you could imagine. Great teamwork by The Club attacking Enzo every moment they get. Enzo five minutes later is still getting beat up by The Club. Enzo fights them off and flies for a tag, which he is met mid-air, by a fantastic knee by Karl. Finally a tag to Cena, with the five moves of death coming. Every wrestler gets their hits in, finishing with a sit down choke bomb by Gallows on Cass. I am not sure what just happened as Cena used Enzo as a kendo stick almost. Every wrestler is hitting their spots, while it concludes with Enzo jumping off the steel steps hitting a ddt on Karl Anderson. Cena makes it into the ring, with the count of 8, falling into a styles clash disrupted by Cass. The Club takes control of the ring. Enzo is left in the ring hulking up against Anderson and Gallows. He takes out Anderson. Him and Gallows stand toe to toe eating a boot to the face. It is now Gallows and Cena in the ring with John knocking Gallows outside the ring. Styles mounts the top rope as Cena hits an amazing Attitude Adjustment for the 1…2….3! An entertaining match/segment that any fan would appreciate. All wrestlers had their good moments as Enzo stole the show again with his microphone skills! It’ll be interesting to see where Enzo and Cass go after this.
Winners-John Cena, Enzo Amore, Big Cass

Highlight Reel with Randy Orton
Randy’s music hits and everybody reacts positively! Randy is enjoying the response and he deserves it. He makes a joke about Y2J and the crowd immediately chants, RKO! RKO! They exchange insults which is pretty entertaining. Chris Jericho recalls the asylum match involving the 69 thumbtacks. Randy makes a pretty good Ellen DeGeneres joke as well. They show a vignette of Brock Lesnar. Randy explains he needed to make an epic return not like Jericho did against Fandango. Randy introduces he only needs 1 RKO a.k.a. Viper Ville, and says he does not need any enhancement!! WOOOO!! Jericho talks some more and they tease the RKO, followed by an RKO outta nowhere!! At SummerSlam it will be Suplex City vs Viper Ville!! Another segment which did not need to be on a PPV. It would have been much more exciting to see Randy return interfering in a match or interrupting a segment. But I did enjoy seeing him back as his mic skills have greatly improved.

Main Event
WWE Championship
Dean Ambrose vs Seth Rollins vs Roman Reigns
They introduce all the GM’s with Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan getting huge reactions. Seth Rollins has a good reaction. Roman Reigns gets booed like crazy. Dean Ambrose gets a pretty decent pop, but Seth wins the crowd reaction. The crowd is anticipating a great match. Mike Chioda rings the bell here we go! Roman Sucks! Chants echo through the Verizon Center! Reigns shoulder tackles Rollins to begin. Rollins taking the damage from both guys to begin. Quick schoolboy on Roman by Ambrose. Dean against Reigns to start. Boo! Yeah! Chants as Dean and Roman exchange right hands. Seth gets back involved in the match attacking both men. All 3 men go at it, fighting for control hitting intermediate level moves on one another. Rollins and Ambrose take the ring as Seth mocks Dean by slapping him. You can feel the crowd ready to explode! Reigns then goes after Rollins with Ambrose interfering. Running knee off the apron by Rollins on Ambrose. All men are outside the ring. Back body drop into the time-keeper on Rollins by Roman. Dean runs across all 3 announce tables colliding with each member of the former Shield. Dean and Roman scramble into the ring, with Ambrose having the upper hand. After a near fall Seth Rollins hits a splash on Dean following the pin. Roman takes advantage knocking out both men looking for a spear on both guys. Superman Punch on Seth, Clothesline from Dean on Roman! In a triangle, the former Shield members exchange punches. Concluding with Dean and Seth stomping out Roman to a YES! chant. Roman falls to the outside, suicide dive by Dean, Flip over the rope by Seth! Seth and Dean rip the spanish table off..YES! YES! YES! Dean sets up Roman on Seth Rollins for a power bomb Shield style! Through the table goes Roman! Seth grabs a chair and deja vu, nails Dean in the back with it! They get back in the ring with a turnbuckle power bomb, reversed into a hurricanrana by Dean. They fight on the top rope with Seth hitting his vintage superplex into another suplex pin. “This Is Awesome” chants ring again. Reigns is back, powerbombing Seth, knocking out Dean to a close 2 count! Roman teases, superman punch misses, Dean teases dirty deeds, Roman teasing Razor’s Edge, Seth hits the pedigree 1…..2….kickout! Seth turnbuckle powerbomb, reacted with a superman punch by Roman, Dean breaks the count up and hits dirty deeds on Roman Reigns! 1…….2……..3!!! Dean Ambrose retains!! Smackdown Wins!! The whole Smackdown roster comes out and lifts Dean up, ironically it is the Uso brothers lifting him. A great match with a good finish!  Dean winning is fine with me as long as Roman did not win. Smackdown has the championship which will keep the fans interested in the new product. The PPV as a whole only had a few good moments, but it was the first ppv after the draft. Give them time to get acquainted. I am fine that I took time to type this all out and appreciate the good wrestling that took place. RAW should be interesting tomorrow!

The NXT Review – July 20, 2016

Whats Up Wrestling Peeps! Okay first up. Mahooooosive apologies for being MIA the past weeks but Vacay days were calling and trips to Middle Earth had to be taken. So “sorry” all round but I am back.

And could I have timed it better? DRAFT BABY! Pop-shots first and ‘feels‘ all round but I was slightly disappointed. Besides the totes-obvs call up of Finn Balor (so many mixed-feels on this one guys) but the other picks just didn’t make sense. For reals time though, because logic dictates that GM’s Daniel Bryan and Saint Mickles could have cherry pick ANYONE.

*Sorry for the atrocious use of caps but, you know, my fingers are shouting right now.*

So once Balor and American Alpha were drafted (feels), is it really logical with the wealth of talent that NXT has right now that the likes of Mojo Rawley, Alexa Bliss and Carmella would see a call-up over the likes of Shinsuke Nakamura, Austin Aries and the NXT Champ himself, Samoa Joe?

And lets not forget The Huggable One Bayley … but more on that later.

Seriously though, I’m not hating on the wrestlers but maybe the good ol’ random draft pick generator for NXT would have made more sense here.

But enough of that because we have the return of Rhyno to talk about. yay

I’m all for past legends of the ring making a return to WWE via the halls of NXT, sucking up that valuable star-dust before the jump to the main roster, but only if they contribute something, anything, before that day comes.

Lets look at Austin Aries. After Tuesday night, I’ve heard many call out that Aries is not destined to make the move up (an opinion that I don’t subscribe to myself) but even if that was the case, at least Sparkle-Pants has gotten over fledging talent and bolster the ranks of the Yellow Brand viewership with name power alone.

Can Rhyno make such a claim?

To be fair, the mans a walking bulldozer, and as such does what is in his nature. Goring to his heart content. But I can do without it when so many other CWC contenders could be making a splash right-now.

moving on

So with Jason Jordan & Chad Gable moving to SmackDown! this would be their goodbye match. And as always, had a strong showing while getting The Authors of Pain over on their way out. Skills!

That being said, I’m not totally sold on AOP but they looked strong tonight. I concede that it is American Alphas innate storytelling ability rather than Paul Ellerings’ boys in-ring charisma that got the job done but they have time to work on that. Gable & Jordan on the other hand, its time for them to move on up and start crafting the possibly of my fantasy match against The New Day.

Here’s hoping.

Speaking of time. Like American Alpha, Nia Jax has done it all in NXT. Yes, she was never able to get the elusive title from the clutches of Bayley or Asuka but I have no-doubt that bigger things await Jax on Monday Night RAW.

Bayley on the other hand, her time will come and like many fans out there I was upset that she wasn’t drafted. But a few days removed and would it have been the best outcome for her, really? Think about it. Sure she would’ve been a great pick for either GM, presumably RAW given that The Boss Sasha Banks remains on the Red brand for now. Meaning that if we are to see the pair recreate some of their legendary matches to date, on RAW is where that would happen.

In my eyes though, Bayley is as big a deal as Finn Balor, more so perhaps. But for your average Wrestling fan that still doesn’t watch NXT (believe me folks, they are out there), she would have been nothing more than a name on a list. Nope, she deserves more than that. She has earned more than that.

I can wait until Sasha wins the Women’s Championship at Summer Slam (if the rumours and fan-speculation be true) if it means that Bayley will debut soon after and walk straight into a feud with The Boss for the title.

Or even Nia Jax if she has the belt by then, who knows. But with so many NXT women dominating the main stage. The future looks bright for Women’s wrestling in the WWE … finally!

Lets just hope the don’t F@#k it up by introducing another tacky belt with a damn butterfly stamped on it.

*shudders*

For all your NXT News & Reviews, stick with @mitch_rated only on Skatronixxx

The NXT Review – 27th April 2016

Whats up Wrestling Peeps! So I’m going to skip over my annoyance of Finn Balor’s NXT Championship loss occurring off-screen, at the so-called dubbed ‘Mayhem in Massachusetts’. And instead revel in the prevailing rumour that this now means that Balor will be heading onto the Main Roster soon … as in, Payback soon.

Yes this would please me muchly, given that this would almost certainly mean a Bullet Club reunion and my much-anticipated Heel turn for Balor – or at the very less an Anti-Hero status – because c’mon. You ever gonna boo the Bullet Club? I mean, real-time hatred boos. Nah, I didn’t think so.

But the WWE (or Vince McMahon to be more precise) has a proven track record of not giving fans what they want. Throw in the rumour of a Steel Cage pay-off for Samoa Joe and Balor’s long-fought feud at the next TakeOver event. And it adds much anticipation going into this Sunday’s Payback.

Does Balor have double-duty in his future? Its your move Vince.

But back to tonight and someone who will be staying on at NXT for a while, your new NXT Women’s Champion Asuka.

As many of you know I have been down on the Asuka win at TakeOver Dallas. I won’t rehash why exactly in much detail, other than I didn’t like the pass-out ending. But I will say that Asuka will make a fantastic Champion, especially if NXT keep Bayley chasing after the title. I have no information telling me that they won’t do that – other than those pesky rumours that Bayley’s call-up will come soon – but an underdog chasing after the Championship they lost, seems fitting for the perpetual easy-to-root for Bayley.

But lets turn Asuka Heel already. A feat made impossible when you have her against the easy-to-Boo Eva Marie.

God bless Eva. No matter how much she improves her in-ring skills, crowds love to boo the All Red Everything. And I can’t hate on it because hey, its fun to do. But as a watcher of Total Divas (I apologise for nothing), Eva seems like a scripted-sweetheart making it hard to hate her.

Reality TV aside though, her limited skill-set and her ability to slow matches down significantly means that a larger push won’t be on the horizon anytime soon. Which I’m okay with, keep Eva as a  hanger-on to the superior Nia Jax, because that is a future NXT Women’s Championship match I’d like to see.

Queen Nia FTW!

Welcome back Blake & Murphy. I’ll let you guys off for the lack of Alexa Bliss (sad emoji’s all round) but it’s good to see my favourite Tag Team in the ring. But lets take a moment and commiserate Zack Ryder, poor guy. Not only does he lose the Intercontinental Title the night after he wins it at WrestleMania but he is once again sent back to wrestle with the man-ape Mojo Rawley.

Okay I’ve got to stop the hate because I like The Rawley-Monster but the dude is annoying as hell. Straight up!

Truth talk time though. Why is Ryder not a permanent fixture on the Main Roster? Like his bestie Dolph Ziggler, the Broski is so over its mind-boggling that this wouldn’t put him in any title hunt what-so-ever. Even more so when considered that his wrestling skills put some Superstars to shame.

Yes you Roman Reigns. #ShotsFired.

Speaking of shots fired. I would normally skip over Elias Samson matches because I’m just not a fan. But when Shinsuke Nakamura is this D’Bags opponent. NXT kinda forced my hand.

Nakamura seems at home in WWE. The Flamboyant King of Strong-Style has sauntered and face-smacked his way through the competition thus far but I can’t help but think that Nakamura’s greatest match won’t present itself on the yellow brand.

I could be wrong, after all that TakeOver match with Sami Zayn has Match of the Year written all over it . But with fellow Wrestle Kingdom 10 Main Eventer AJ Styles on the Main Roster. Nakemura’s future has Monday Night RAW (and WrestleMania Main Event) waiting for him against arguable more cashable stars than Elias Samson.

NXT … enjoy Nakamura while you’ve got him. It won’t be for long.

*Insert Sad-Face Here*

For all your NXT News & Review, stick with @mitch_rated only on Skatronixxx